When First We Met
by Mamoo
Summary: My own version of Brian's first day in the Griffin house, hope you enjoy it.


**I'm finally getting another of my stories on paper (well, virtual paper). Brian/Lois again, but more centring on Brian. It centres on the when Brian first got adopted into the Griffin family. There is a small flashback in season 1, episode 8 where Peter offers Brian a place in his family, but I'm sure you've already seen that. Our story begins at the car ride home. Enjoy it and please review.**

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"You hungry?" Peter asked the homeless dog, who was walking up the street away from his car. The white dog turned on his heel to look at Peter, bewildered at what he was asking. "'Cause, you know my wife makes us this beeferoni casserole, out of this world." The dog's tail began to wag and he walked round to the passenger side of the car, opening the door and seating himself in the car seat.

Peter began to drive towards Spooner Street, neither him nor the rough looking dog saying a word. He decided to break the awkward silence by attaining some information from his new companion.

"So...How long have you been a stray?" His question was perhaps a little blunt for such a painful subject, the dog closed his eyes, obviously reliving countless years of emotional trauma.

"Longer than I can remember." His voice was shaky, he was evidently trying not to think about too much of his past. "So...Do you have a pet already?"

"No, we were going to get a dog this weekend, but a talking dog is way cooler than one from the pet store."

"You sure your wife won't mind you bringing a stray into your house?"

"Nah, we'll get you a shower and a shave, you'll be clean as a whistle." The car entered the driveway of the Griffin house, the former stray noted just how short the journey had seemed. "C'mon, you can meet Lois and the kids, they're probably in the kitchen." Peter exited the car and walked towards the side door, his new dog following suit.

"Lois, I got us a dog!" Peter exclaimed as he burst through the kitchen door.

"I thought we were going out to get one on Saturday." The red headed housewife seemed a little annoyed that Peter had not consulted her on his decision.

"Yeah, but I got us a talking dog!" Peter was far more excitable than was necessary for such a situation, talking animals were fairly in everyday life.

"Oh, okay then." Lois turned back to the oven, slightly uninterested on the matter. Peter momentarily went back outside and, before the door could close behind him, ushered in the roughed up white dog. As Lois turned round again hearing the door close, she was greeted with her first sight of the dog who would remain the family companion for years to come. His fur was matted in places with spots of blood and other questionable substances, he was unshaven and had the distinct stench of filth around him.

"Well, Lois, what do you think?"

"Uhh, could I talk to you in the living room?"

"Okay." Peter followed Lois into the next room leaving the dog with their kids, none of them speaking a word, just staring at the doorway Peter and Lois had gone into.

"Peter, that's not just a talking dog, it's an anthropomorph."

"A what?" Peter obviously had no idea what his wife was talking about.

"It's like a human in dog form, it does everything a human does, but it's a dog."

"Oh, does it do doggy things as well?"

"I don't know Peter, I'm not a zoologist."

"A what?" Lois sighed and walked back into the kitchen, exasperated by her husband's naivety. "Kids, in the dining room." she said finally, handing each one of them a plate. She then sat on a chair, Peter sitting opposite her. "Have a seat." Lois gestured to the seat at the head of the table, in between her and Peter. The dog took the offer, looking nervously between the two adults.

"So, Lois tells me you're an anthropomorph." Peter said, breaking the awkward silence that preceded him.

"Hmm." The dog confirmed this, looking back at Peter. Lois then took her turn to ask a more meaningful question.

"Do you have a name?"

"Yes, I mean...I did." The dog stared into empty space, desperately trying to recall any information of his past life.

"What do you mean you did?" Peter asked, eyeing up the dog suspiciously.

"I-I've been alone so long it slipped my mind. No one's spoken to me personally in my memory." Lois gave him a sympathetic look, while Peter was beside himself that he could come up with a name for the dog.

"We could make a name for you then!" He exclaimed, now far too excitable for the tension of the scene. Ignoring this, the dog looked up at him.

"Okay, what did you have in mind?"

"Mr. Belvedere." Peter's answer was instantaneous, he had obviously had that name in his mind the entire conversation. The dog look round to Lois, whom he had deduced was the most sane of the couple.

"Do people go by...that?" He inquired the woman.

"No, no they don't." She looked irritably at her husband for coming up with such a ridiculous name. "What about...Roger?" She l asked uncertainly of the dog.

"Yeah, yeah that sounds good." Peter looked a little downtrodden. Lois got up and entered the living room momentarily, Roger and Peter could hear her instructing the three children to go to bed, all of them complying immediately. She returned to her previous seat and directed her attention back to the newly named Roger.

"Do you have any personal things?" She asked, choosing her wording carefully.

"Just this." He said, producing a video tape.

"What's that?" Peter asked bluntly.

"A few home videos of me with my...family." His voice wavered at the final word, he shut his eyes, recalling the pain of being left on the pavement as he watched the people he lived with drive away without a second look back. A single tear escaped his eye, rolling down his cheek. Lois placed a hand on his shoulder. "Do you mind if I use your video player?" He asked, holding up the video and wiping away the tear that had left a trail on his face.

"Not at all." Lois said, gently taking the video tape from Roger and getting up, Peter and Roger followed her into the living room where she inserted the tape into the player and turned the TV on, the three of them then sat on the sofa, Lois being sure to take the place next to Roger, figuring he'd need some support throughout this video, and Peter would certainly not be giving any. The static faded into a video of a man and woman, with a small girl sitting a way behind them.

"Well, this is our new dog." The man said, pointing down to his feet, the camera angled downwards to reveal the cuddliest puppy you've ever seen, his tongue was hanging out and he looked exceedingly happy with his home. The man continued as the camera once again centred on him. "We've decided to call him Brian."

"Brian..." The dog in question whispered the name to himself, sketchy parts of his memory returning to him.

"Ha! I knew Roger wasn't the right name!" Peter practically shouted at his wife, who shot him a piercing look in return, his insensitivity wasn't helping the situation for either of the others. Lois turned her attention back to Brian, who was blankly staring at the TV screen.

"They...left me." He whispered, more tears streaming down his face. He buried his face in his paws and sobbed softly, Lois put an arm round his shoulders and he cried, the haunting moment coming back to him in clear detail. Peter switched off the TV and left the other two alone as he ascended the stairs and entered his bedroom. "Well, I'd better get myself cleaned up." The dog sighed, Lois nodding slowly.

"The bathroom's up the stairs and to the right." Brian nodded and walked up the stairs, following Lois' directions he opened the door and walked in, removing his collar and jumping into the shower. The feeling of the water washing the dirt and blood from his fur was the most blissful sensation in the world. He was soon all washed, and walked over to the cabinet. He swung the mirror back to reveal an electric razor that presumably belonged to Peter, assuming he wouldn't mind Brian set the blade so that it wouldn't trim his fur. He took off all the grey stubble that surrounded his chin, and splashed a little water on his face. The sight that looked back at him from the mirror was one that he hadn't seen in years, it was the sight of a handsome, clean white Labrador.

Brian exited the bathroom and walked back down the stairs, seeing Lois watching the rest of his video, she had a used tissue in her hand and had evidently been crying. She looked around as his feet padded along he carpet towards her.

"Oh, Brian!" She exclaimed, unexpectedly pulling him into a hug, softly crying into his shoulder. "How do you get through life?" She whispered into his ear, still choking back a few tears.

"It's people like you who help me to..." He whispered back, some tears of his own now flowing down. "Well, I'd better get out of your hair." he said suddenly, gently pushing Lois away.

"W-what? I thought you were gonna live with us?" Lois looked sad at the dog's departure.

"Well, I assumed you wouldn't want such a smelly mongrel walking around your house."

"Oh, come on. You look pretty handsome now you're all cleaned up." Smiling at the compliment, Brian shuffled his feet and avoided Lois' gaze.

"Plus, I can't go through...that again." He gestured towards the TV, where Lois had inadvertently paused the video on a scene where Brian was watching after the family car as it drove off, leaving him on the side of the road.

"Oh, I promise Brian, we won't let that happen." Lois looked sadly into Brian's eyes.

"I...I just can't risk that kind of emotional..." He failed to finish his sentenced as he choked on his tears, more forming in his dark eyes.

"Please, Brian, don't go back out there." It was now raining through the darkness of the night, Brian though about the cold, and the wet. The hunger pierced his stomach as he noticed that he'd not have anything to eat in days.

"Okay, I'll stay."

"Oh! Thank you Brian!" Lois threw her arms around him again, he this time reciprocated the hug, drawing his arms round her back, she gently squeezed him and let go. "I imagine you're pretty hungry, aren't you?"

"Well now that you mention it, I haven't eaten anything in almost a week." Brian held his stomach as his hunger pang returned to haunt him.

"Well, I can heat up some of my casserole."

"That sounds divine." Brian beamed at Lois, who looked touched and made her way into the kitchen. Brian sat on the sofa and took the TV remote in his hand. Sighing he pressed the play button and watched the last few seconds of the tape, reliving the horrifying realisation hat he had been abandoned forever, at least, he thought it was forever at the time.

"It's ready, Brian." Lois said quietly as she entered the lounge. Said dog slid off the couch and followed her into the kitchen. As he entered he saw Lois sat where she was when they has their first conversation, in front of her was a small bowl of casserole, in the place he had occupied during their conversation was a considerably larger bowl of the same casserole. Brian sat himself down and dug into the meal, placing his first mouthful of food for almost a week into his mouth. The tender beef and rich, flavourful juice flowed into every crevice of his mouth, warming him to the core and giving him his first taste of proper food for as long as he could remember.

"Do you like it?" Lois inquired as she watch Brian savour every second the food was in his mouth.

"When Peter said your cooking was out of this world, he wasn't lying." Brian said, the delectable food spreading an uncontrollable smile across his face.

"Aww, thank you Brian." Lois placed a hand on top of his paw and looked deep into his eyes. He just stared back, not daring to move from his position. Lois closed her eyes and drew her face closer to Brian's. His eyes closed also, ready for whatever the woman had planned. As Lois drew closer to Brian, she paused, and thought about exactly what she was doing. Hastily, she pecked Brian on the cheek and rose up from her chair, swiftly exiting the room, only offering a fleeting 'good night' as she left the room. Brian thought about the event for a few seconds, the just shrugged and ate every scrap of food in his bowl and Lois' abandoned one.

Dumping them both in the sink, he walked up the stairs, into the bedroom with the door cracked open. He climbed onto the bed and curled himself up at the end, he didn't know why, but this just felt right. He was home.

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**Well there's my little one-shot. Hope you like it and please review. Personally I'm surprised this scenario hasn't been done already, it's set up in the show already. I hope you enjoyed my take on this part of Brian's life.**


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